Embers
by Teveau
Summary: John gets back from his adventure with Richie. He finds someone on the couch when he gets in.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I own nothing. Setting pretty soon after A Whole World Out There. Not related to Mercury, Antiquing, or Nice Guys Don't Kiss Like That.**

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Zed's dead to the world on the sofa when John gets back from Ivy University. He's pleasantly surprised to see her there; although he would never admit it, her determination to leave just before their Brooklyn trip had forced him to begin trying to mentally prepare himself for her exit from his life.

And there she is, eyes closed, murmuring softly in Spanish. She holds her arms tight to her chest, protecting herself from something even in her dreams. The fire has begun to die down, and only embers glow in the grate. He sets his bag down, pulls the blanket she has covered herself with more snugly around her shoulders, and puts a fresh log on the fireplace, jabbing it with a poker until it is merrily aflame.

"You're back," she says, her voice low and soft with sleep. "How was your trip?"

Hands in pockets, he walks back over to her. "Not too bad. It was good to work with Ritchie again."

She nods, glances at her watch, and begins to sit up, but he stops her. "It's late. You should go back to sleep."

Zed lays back down, looking up at him. "Technically, it's early. Aren't you tired?"

He shrugs. "I'll be up for awhile."

She slides her feet upward, pulling them closer towards her before gesturing to the place she has made. "Talk to me while I fall back asleep."

He lowers himself slowly to the sofa, stiff from the plane ride, and pulls the blanket over her bare feet. "And what did you do while I was gone?"

She slides onto her back so she can see him more easily. "Sketched. Did some reading. Tried to learn a fire spell." She grins. "It's a good thing Chas got that fire extinguisher."

"We'll have to work on it. That's a practical spell, that."

"John?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks for letting me stay here."

He doesn't tell her how much he enjoys having her here. "I want you to feel safe. I told you there's no better place to disappear than here." He ponders this silently for a moment. Were she any other woman, she would not be staying here. This thought frightens him a little, and is simultaneously intriguing.

She smiles at him. "I do feel safe." She yawns. "What all did you do with Richie?"

He doesn't want to talk about the kids Jacob Shaw trapped and killed, nor fill her dreams with nightmares. He condenses it. "There was a man, causing problems in people's dreams. We stopped him."

Zed frowns and sits up. "It took a toll on you."

John smiles grimly. "They all do." He looks over at her. "You're supposed to be going back to sleep."

She shakes her head. "The sun will be up soon. You know how sometimes you need to see it come up, make sure it's going to rise another day?"

John nods. "I'll be awake. We'll work on that fire spell, eh?"

She lies back down and he doesn't protest when she works her feet beneath his leg, warming them.

In a low voice, he begins to tell her the basics of the fire spell, and little by little, her eyes droop shut, and she is asleep again.

John rests his head against the back of the sofa and closes his eyes. Which is exactly how Chas finds the two of them later, Zed with her feet tucked neatly under John, who is snoring softly. He leaves them be.


	2. Chapter 2

"Close your eyes," he tells her, "And listen to my voice."

Not a difficult thing to do, really. Zed obediently closes her eyes, hands out, while John stands nearby behind her.

"You're trying to get a spark started right there in the palm of your hand. It's _not _going to burn you; don't be frightened. Think of a flame, just a small flame in your mind. Heat, light, warmth, the glow of a candle."

She visualizes a candle in her mind, the wick glowing bright and steady.

"Now. Repeat after me. _Fuego inceneratus._"

"_Fuego inceneratus_," Zed repeats.

Nothing happens. Zed opens her eyes, mildly disappointed.

Even though he's standing behind her, John can see by the slump of her shoulders that her attitude has changed. "No, love, don't lose your concentration. It's going to take practice. Practice makes better." He steps closer to her and touches her forearms, just resting his palms there. "Eyes closed."

His lips are near her ear, voice low and rumbly, and Zed hopes that he cannot feel the goose flesh that has spread down her arms.

"Try again," he tells her. "_Fuego inceneratus_."

She can't concentrate now. The flame inside her mind's eye has flared into a bonfire, sparking into a void. Zed shakes her head.

"Shh. Focus. You're thinking of a flame. Remember? A nice little flame, something to light your way in the dark."

She squeezes her eyes shut, tries to think. A little flame. Her candle. The bonfire lessens in size, melts down to one singular flame atop a red candle.

"_Fuego inceneratus_," she whispers.

"Like you mean it," John instructs.

"_Fuego inceneratus_," she repeats forcefully.

And like, that, a small ball of flame the size of a marble blooms in her open palm.

"See, now? Practice makes better."

Zed holds the flame in her palm, appreciating its warmth. "And how do I turn it off?"

"It's magic, love, not a light switch." He hand slides down her arm, the back of her hand in his palm. "_Exstinguere_." He presses her fingers together beneath his, and the flame disappears.

Slowly – reluctantly? – he steps away from her. Zed feels colder once he's moved, and it's not because her flame has gone out. Far from it. She turns to face him.

"Magic, when used properly, can be a beautiful thing," he tells her.

Zed nods.


End file.
